LET FOOD BE YOUR MEDICINE

Not all fats are created equal. Many have different structures and can only be used for specific reasons. The craze currently is that people should eat as much fat as they can, this is partly true. The reason a high fat diet is promoted is to create a healthy environment within our system. What most don’t know is that we can actually create a very unhealthy environment inside our body if we chose the wrong kind of fat. Fats are separated by their bond structure, most are familiar with the word Omega. Omega’s are mostly seen in 3, 6, and 9. What we dont know is that not all Omega’s are the same. The numbers change how the fat is recognized in the body. What is commonly misunderstood is that 6 & 9 are just as good as 3. Well that couldn’t be further from the truth. If 3 is not in signifcant elevation to 6 & 9 then we actually can reach an inflammatory state. I know this is a lot of information and can tend to be very confusing, but lets make it easy, Omega 3 is the winner!

So what foods are higher in Omega 3 then?

Coconut, salmon, sardine/anchovy/cod, grass fed red meats, liver, egg yolks, grass fed dairy…. There is a good long list of foods high in Omega 3, you get the gist. The foods high in 6 & 9 are not bad foods by any means, they just need to be in moderation to the omega 3.

So now that we know the better foods to keep as our staple, lets talk about the right fats to cook with.

Vegetable oils like canola, and soy should be in your trash, like right now! While your at it, toss the peanut, sesame, and grapeseed in there too. Olive can stay, but should be lightly heated. We call olive oil a finishing oil, for things like salad or homemade mayo. I know you might be thinking that I am crazy right about now, like your hippie radar is going off and I sound like a doomsday prepper. Well some of that is true, but mostly my reasoning behind this madness is science. Some fats can actually lose stability after a certain termperature is reached. Its called oxidation. Not to mention that some of those oils don’t naturally preserve well and could be rancid, ew. Oxidizing is something you never want happening to your fats. It makes them carcinogenic, we’re talking cancer here people. You can call it, inflammation in a bottle.

What fats are safe to cook with you ask? First let talk about what temperatures you are cooking with!

Here is a little guideline:

High heats- Avocado oil, Tallow, Coconut oil

Medium heats- Butter, Lard, Bacon fat, Ghee, Duck fat

Low heats- Olive oil, fish oils

Now that we know what fats to eat and to cook with we can focus more on elevating the right ones. I am a huge fan of coconut oil, if you don’t like the cocnut flavor, you can get refined coconut oil. Tallow makes everything taste better, so thats always a good choice. You can always make your own, or you can get it from http://www.fatworks.com that’s where we buy ours 🙂